Jackson County animal shelter facing overcrowding crisis

Mallette said whenever a pet is abandoned or surrendered to the shelter, it puts them or other animals at risk of being euthanized due to overcrowding. (Photo source: WLOX)

GAUTIER, MS (WLOX) -

Volunteers packed up their cars with 65 cats and dogs from the Jackson County Animal Shelter on Friday morning. The potential pets will be making their way up to Southern Pines, a no-kill shelter in Hattiesburg.

"We don't have space. We're always full, so we're sending off 65 animals," said Maridee Mallette, with the Jackson County shelter. "Today, we've already got 13 in before I've even left to go on the transport."

That's part of the shelter’s problem. The Jackson County Animal Shelter is a county-run, open admission municipality, which means it has to admit every pet that comes in. Since Southern Pines recently achieved no-kill status, it has the ability to get the pets adopted.

"We'll fill back up by Monday," Mallette lamented.

Mallette said whenever a pet is abandoned or surrendered to the shelter, it puts them or other animals at risk of being euthanized due to overcrowding.

"Try all the options before they get here. Try finding them a home first. You can put them on Facebook. Maybe charge a fee, because usually when people pay a fee, they aren't going to do anything bad to the animal," Mallette explained.

Mallette said if you're going to use sites like Craigslist or give away your pet for free to make sure you meet with the potential owner beforehand.

Residents are still taking additional measures to stop the violence in Moss Point. Saturday afternoon, an outreach program on Main Street continued its efforts in the fight that's been going on for the past weeks.

Residents are still taking additional measures to stop the violence in Moss Point. Saturday afternoon, an outreach program on Main Street continued its efforts in the fight that's been going on for the past weeks.